Top-Tier Coffee Beans—Introduction to Ethiopia's Double Champion Amederalo.

TOH: The African Flavor Harvest Coffee Competition

TOH, officially known as "Taste of Harvest" and called the "Double Champion," refers to coffee that has won both the national competition and the African regional finals. In the 2019/20 Ethiopian national competition, AmmedelaLo secured first place, then distinguished itself among the national competition winners in the African regional finals to become the "double champion."

Champion Coffee: Uraga

This coffee comes from the Uraga sub-region of Ethiopia's famous Guji region. Originally part of the Sidamo region, Guji was separated due to its unique regional flavor characteristics, similar to Yirgacheffe. This region produces many renowned coffees, including the popular Flower Queen series, which originates from the Hambela sub-region of Guji.

Uraga is a sub-region within Guji, with an altitude reaching 2300m. Although Uraga town is located within the Guji region, geographically it is closer to the high-altitude areas of Yirgacheffe at 2200m. The region's geology consists of nutrient-rich black soil (Vertisol), surrounded by lush green trees and several mountain ranges that create the perfect environment for quality coffee. It is precisely for this reason that coffee beans from this region have a very rich fruit aroma and exceptionally clear acidity.

Processing Station and Method

This champion coffee was processed using the washed method at the Sela Gajaba washing station. Located 12 kilometers outside Uraga town, this station is one of the finest in Uraga. The processing procedures are almost entirely completed indoors, minimizing the risk of coffee bean contamination.

Freshly harvested coffee cherries undergo a two-step screening process to select fully ripe, flawless cherries, which are then subjected to pulping. The coffee beans with remaining mucilage are placed in water to ferment for approximately 18-36 hours. After fermentation, the coffee beans with parchment are washed in flowing water channels to remove the pulp and mucilage. After washing, the coffee beans are dried either by sun-drying or with mechanical dryers until the moisture content reaches about 12%. Finally, the parchment is removed from the coffee beans.

This processing method gives the coffee the traditional floral notes, citrus, and tea-like characteristics of Ethiopian coffee, while adding considerable cleanliness.

Coffee Varieties

The official variety listed for this AmmedelaLo coffee, like other Ethiopian coffees, is "Heirloom." The barista at FrontStreet Coffee reminds us: "Heirloom is not a specific coffee variety." Unlike Typica, Bourbon, and Geisha, Heirloom is a collective term used to encompass Ethiopia's numerous coffee varieties. For example, when the roaster examined this AmmedelaLo coffee, they found that the beans varied in size, ranging from 15 to 18 screen size.

Countless coffee varieties are cultivated in Ethiopia, with mixed cultivation being one of its characteristics. Although Ethiopia is a major coffee-producing country, it primarily relies on smallholder farming models. During harvest seasons, picked coffee cherries are sent to nearby processing stations, which creates the second characteristic—mixed harvesting and processing. This makes it even more challenging to trace specific varieties, though there are other reasons not detailed here.

Therefore, unlike other coffee-producing countries, most Ethiopian coffee beans use the term "Heirloom" to fill the variety information section. This AmmedelaLo coffee has another special feature in its processing method—Anaerobic Slow Dry (ASD). The first time I heard about this processing method was in 2019 when the Elida Estate won the Best of Panama (BOP) competition with their Anaerobic Slow Dry Geisha, which fetched an astonishing price of $1029 per pound.

Regarding the Anaerobic Slow Dry (ASD) processing method, each letter accurately expresses its characteristics: first, Anaerobic; second, Slow; and third, Dry. Coffee cherries are placed whole with pulp in sealed barrels for anaerobic fermentation, lasting up to 120 hours. After anaerobic fermentation, the coffee cherries are placed on drying beds for at least 5 weeks. This processing method gives the AmmedelaLo coffee beans a richer berry aroma.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473